This message is coming to you from a middle school teacher who is very concerned about the deteriorating condition of public education in this country. As we continue to fall behind in the standings of other civilized countries of the world, in terms of educating our youth, it would seem that the reasons are glaringly visible. Parents of students no longer view a solid education as the path to a better life and they have stopped considering education a privilege and see it now as a birth right. The presidential program “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND” has created an atmosphere that all children, no matter how disruptive, have a right to remain in the classroom. Principals and teachers alike have allowed discipline to slip from their grasp for fear that they might offend or upset the powers that be and thus cause themselves to come under scrutiny for their inability to comply with the law of the land.
I recently wrote a lengthy letter to the Obama transition team detailing these problems as I see them and I requested that he revisit the current legislation that has become a road block to achievement. There are a multitude of children in the public system only because their parents cannot afford a private education for them. Many of these students have a burning desire to do well and excel in school but are handicapped by those disruptive students whose only goal in life is to be seen as a bad example. They complicate matters by causing young, first term, teachers to rethink whether the career field they have chosen was such a good idea. We are losing these teachers at an alarming rate, so what is to become of the system when the experienced teachers chose retirement. The chasm will by that time be one that we cannot bridge and the downward spiral into mediocrity will continue.
In my letter to Mr. Obama’s advisors I suggested that we bring back or put greater emphasis on a trade school education for students that continue to flaunt the school systems inability to control them. This approach might give some of them a dose of reality that may well bring them into line. If this fails to impress upon them the value of education and they continue to act like the thugs they so idolize then let them try to make a living without the benefit of any education.
It’s time we recaptured our role as educators instead of babysitters.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Me and my BFF (50 pint blood donors)
Have you every shared the company of genius?
I ask this question in all seriousness. Have you ever felt like you either knew of someone or have been in the company of someone that you think could fall into the category of a genius?
Most people’s opinion of such a person is someone similar to an Einstein or a Galileo. That might be someone extraordinary in some field of study or someone with powers of concentration so great that they can accomplish great deeds that are virtually impossible for us normal people. Some other person’s definition of a genius might be someone with little or no practical or common sense but at the same time they might be able to perform some masterful feat. It is a rare occasion when you personally know someone of this magnitude. It is better yet when you can call this person a trusted friend. Because of the rare nature of true genius I would consider it quite lucky if you were to encounter someone of this caliber just once in your lifetime. This is why I consider myself to be just that lucky because I consider my (BFF) best friend forever to be just such a person.
His name is Kevin Mazarac and we have been good friends for the better part of twenty years. Although I am much older than he, we have remained best of friends. He is a self styled inventor who walked away from a lucrative career with Halliburton Industries (a six figure career) to pursue his own interest of inventing equipment to help others with manufacturing problems. In the beginning times were quite lean and it was in fact a struggle. But by sheer determination he has reached a level of competence that few people will ever achieve. He looks back on his past and views every aspect of it as a learning experience that has lead him to where he is today. His ability in solving complicated problems with multimillion dollar rewards at stake has made him in high demand lately. He is beginning to see the rewards of years of learning and hard work. His ability to focus his concentration on a problem is legendary among his close friends and acquaintances. He once taught himself how to utilize the very complicate software program INVENTOR 5.0 by locking himself in his office for a week until he was satisfied that he could use it with much success. He also taught himself how to be a Master machinist and to that end I have seen him create machined projects with just a lathe and a milling machine that machinist with for more experience than he could ever hope to accomplish. This is where his true genius lies. When I am in his workshop and he is in his element I sometimes think that this is how it must have been for those apprentices working with Thomas Edison or some other great inventor. I am often awed by his ability but more often lately I am delighted by his success. No one is more deserving of the rewards that come from hard work and brute determination.
I ask this question in all seriousness. Have you ever felt like you either knew of someone or have been in the company of someone that you think could fall into the category of a genius?
Most people’s opinion of such a person is someone similar to an Einstein or a Galileo. That might be someone extraordinary in some field of study or someone with powers of concentration so great that they can accomplish great deeds that are virtually impossible for us normal people. Some other person’s definition of a genius might be someone with little or no practical or common sense but at the same time they might be able to perform some masterful feat. It is a rare occasion when you personally know someone of this magnitude. It is better yet when you can call this person a trusted friend. Because of the rare nature of true genius I would consider it quite lucky if you were to encounter someone of this caliber just once in your lifetime. This is why I consider myself to be just that lucky because I consider my (BFF) best friend forever to be just such a person.
His name is Kevin Mazarac and we have been good friends for the better part of twenty years. Although I am much older than he, we have remained best of friends. He is a self styled inventor who walked away from a lucrative career with Halliburton Industries (a six figure career) to pursue his own interest of inventing equipment to help others with manufacturing problems. In the beginning times were quite lean and it was in fact a struggle. But by sheer determination he has reached a level of competence that few people will ever achieve. He looks back on his past and views every aspect of it as a learning experience that has lead him to where he is today. His ability in solving complicated problems with multimillion dollar rewards at stake has made him in high demand lately. He is beginning to see the rewards of years of learning and hard work. His ability to focus his concentration on a problem is legendary among his close friends and acquaintances. He once taught himself how to utilize the very complicate software program INVENTOR 5.0 by locking himself in his office for a week until he was satisfied that he could use it with much success. He also taught himself how to be a Master machinist and to that end I have seen him create machined projects with just a lathe and a milling machine that machinist with for more experience than he could ever hope to accomplish. This is where his true genius lies. When I am in his workshop and he is in his element I sometimes think that this is how it must have been for those apprentices working with Thomas Edison or some other great inventor. I am often awed by his ability but more often lately I am delighted by his success. No one is more deserving of the rewards that come from hard work and brute determination.
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